MOBILE, Alabama – Spanish Fort’s Sammy Harris looked lonely on the left side of the field on a fourth-down play early in the second quarter.

That’s because he was uncovered on what looked to be a Toro punt attempt.

Instead, up back Tyler Johnston, the team’s quarterback, caught the snap, found Harris on a 57-yard, game-changing TD play and the Class 5A top-ranked Toros rolled over No. 8 St. Paul’s 29-6 on Friday night at E.E. Delaney Stadium.

“That was a big key for us,” Spanish Fort coach Mark Freeman said. “We got the momentum back there and were able to keep it the rest of the game for the most part. We’ve been saving that play all year. We knew we might need something special tonight. St. Paul’s has a great team.”

The Toros (6-0 overall, 4-0 Region 1) trailed 6-2 when their first drive of the second quarter stalled. After Michael Howard gained just one yard on third-and-2, Spanish Fort faced fourth-and-1 at its 43.

Alexander Theodore came in presumably to kick the ball back to St. Paul’s. What happened instead was Harris came in during a mix of personnel shuffling. When the ball was snapped to Johnston, he raised up and found his receiver uncovered near the Toro sideline. Spanish Fort took a 9-6 lead after Theodore’s extra point and didn’t trail again.

“It was a momentum killer,” St. Paul’s coach Steve Mask said. “No doubt about that. We thought they might try a fake punt, but we didn’t expect it to happen like that.”

Mask said, from his vantage point, Spanish Fort ran one player to its sideline and sent another back in.

“We just didn’t pick the guy up,” he said. “We lost someone in the interchange.”

It was one play in a big night for Harris, who caught seven passes for 156 yards. Johnston finished 9-of-14 for 219 yards.

“Sammy always plays big for us,” Freeman said. “Tonight, I thought Tyler made some great reads. He is starting to be able to read two and three receiver patterns and that is big for us. It allows us to do so many different things.”

Spanish Fort defenders swarm St. Paul's quarterback Miller Mosley during Friday's Game of the Week at St. Paul's. (Mike Kittrell | mkittrell@al.com)

The Toros took control after the fake punt. After forcing a St. Paul’s punt on the next possession, Spanish Fort moved 95 yards in 12 plays to build on its lead before the half. The biggest play came when Johnston connected with Harris on a 38-yard play on a third-and-9. Five plays later, Johnston scored from three yards out. Theodore kicked the lead to 16-6 at intermission.

“That long drive at the end of the half was big for them as well,” Mask said. “We had some young guys out there in a game like this for the first time. Sometimes in a situation like that, the younger guys just lose their will to live or to stay out there. We knew coming in this game was going to come down to mistakes and big plays. We made some mistakes. Spanish Fort made its share of big plays.”

Spanish Fort took the opening drive of the second half 80 yards in six plays. Johnston connected with Kevin Marion on a 32-yard pass and Harris on a 14-yard pass. Michael Howard scored the first of his two second-half touchdowns on a 12-yard run. Theodore kicked the lead to 23-6 with 9:39 left in the quarter.

The Toros put the finishing touches on the scoring early in the fourth quarter. Howard capped a six play, 56-yard drive with an 11-yard TD run. The extra point was wide, but the damage was done. Spanish Fort led 29-6 and all that was left was to run out the clock. Howard had 12 carries for 59 yards and the two scores.

“It was a good game,” Freeman said. “St. Paul’s is a good team. Like there usually is when we play them, there are seven or eight plays that made a big difference. We made a few more than they did tonight. But these are two really good teams.”

Spanish Fort took a 2-0 lead early in the first quarter when St. Paul’s snapped a ball over punterJohannes Lackinger’s head. Lackinger recovered and tried to kick the ball, but it was partially blocked and recovered out of the end zone for a Toro safety.

St. Paul’s (4-2, 3-1) took its only lead early in the second quarter. Jalen Thompson hit Trayon Tate on a 35-yard pass play down to the Spanish Fort 13. Ostin McPherson carried three straight times, the last one for a 3-yard TD run. The try for two failed and the Saints led 6-2 with 10:56 left in the half. McPherson finished the game with 22 carries for 99 yards.

St. Paul’s sophomore quarterback Miller Mosley, forced to take to the air more in the second half as the game got out of reach, finished 11-of-28 for 110 yards and two interceptions.

“Maybe we will meet them again,” Mask said. “I’d like to think we would because that would mean we were both still playing in the third or fourth round of the playoffs again. The season is not over. Both Mark and I said that before the game. There is a lot of football left.”

BEN THOMAS’ GAME OF THE WEEKNo. 1 Spanish Fort 29, No. 8 St. Paul’s 6E.E. Delaney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama Why Spanish Fort Won: The Toros continued to be balanced on offense and suffocating on defense. Spanish Fort rushed for 158 yards, threw for 219 and held St. Paul’s under 300 yards in total offense. Key Play: Trailing 6-2 early in the second quarter, Spanish Fort lined up to punt on a fourth-and-1. Instead, the snap went to the up back, quarterback Tyler Johnston, who found a wide open Sammy Harris for a 57-yard touchdown. The Toros never trailed again. Game Ball: Sammy Harris. The senior receiver found ways to get open all night. He finished with seven catches for 156 yards and the game-changing TD on the fake punt. The Big Stat: Spanish Fort has now won 15 straight games since its last loss – last October at home against St. Paul’s. Next week: Spanish Fort returns home to host Vigor, while St. Paul’s hosts Faith Academy.